I basically live in cardigans, paired with skirts. I've worked with a woman who always wore black pants and the same cardigan in about 12 different colours, and another who always wore lots of colour - cute tops, bright floral/printed skirts, and flats. (I liked her style a lot.)

Ugh, I absolutely HATE this trope. Had a rant about it a while ago. http://nzmuse.com/2011/01/the-job-that-you-wake-up-excited-for-propaganda/
I like what I do, and I don't dread going to work. But I certainly wouldn't go to work every single day if finances were removed from the equation. I also think it's ridiculous to think we can all love our jobs if for no other reason than the fact that most jobs - the important kinds of jobs that make the world keep ticking along - are not that exciting. (Ranted about this a couple months ago too. http://nzmuse.com/2013/01/can-we-all-realistically-expect-to-love-our-jobs/)

Taxes in NZ are really easy - if you have a single full time job, you basically know you will get a refund, and you only have to fill in ONE form, I think.
If you have multiple jobs, freelance, run a business, etc, then it gets a bit more complicated, and there are a bunch of companies that will do it for you and take a cut if you get a refund.

The problem with never carrying cash is that even if I genuinely wanted to give money to someone seemingly deserving, I can't.
For awhile when I worked in the city, I used to try to keep some spare change handy as I liked to toss a few coins into the guitar cases of awesome buskers on the street. Now I work in the burbs, so there's not a lot of street musicians on my commute...